Exploring the Different Types of Pilot Careers

Have you been thinking about starting a rewarding career as a professional pilot? With the growing worldwide pilot shortage, choosing a pilot career is smarter than ever.

There is an old saying: “If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.” How would you feel if your office or work place was located in the cockpit of an airplane, turbo prop, small jet, airline jumbo jet, or any other type of aircraft while being thousands of feet up in the air? That is the ultimate feeling of flying and freedom. Not only that, pilot salaries have been soaring, too.

If you have ever wanted to learn to fly and become a professional pilot, now may be the perfect time. There is a substantial need for many different types of certified professional pilots. These range from commercial airline pilots to more unusual pilot careers.

If you are interested in earning a pilot certificate, there are a few questions you need to be asking yourself:

  • Do you know what type of pilot you would like to be?
  • Do you know about the type of pilot license you will need for your particular pilot career path?
  • Have you ever researched the many different types of pilot jobs and pilot careers that are currently available for FAA-certified pilots?

Pilot Career Options

We created this brief list on some of the more popular and well known pilot career options that are available for certified pilots.

  1. Major Airlines – Become a commercial airline transport pilot and fly all over the world for major airlines. There are more than 5,000 airlines worldwide, and with pilots retiring in record numbers, this remains the number one career for pilots who value their seniority.
  2. Regional Airlines – Become a domestic commercial airline pilot for a regional airline carrier. Many pilots prefer this, because it requires fewer overnight trips and keeps them closer to home. You can achieve rank relatively quickly.
  3. Corporate and Business Aviation – This type of commercial pilot usually gets to fly smaller, high-end, corporate jets and turboprops for corporations, businesses, and even for the rich and famous.
  4. Cargo Pilot – A cargo pilot delivers parcels and packages for small and large cargo companies such as FedEx and UPS.
  5. Charter Pilot and Air Taxi – A charter pilot is basically a pilot that flies people to specific destinations. You can operate your own private charter company or work for a large number of other charter airlines.
  6. Ferry Pilot and Aircraft Salesmen Pilot – This type of pilot delivers newly purchased aircraft to the new owner’s destination. With plane manufacturing at an all-time high, this is a growing area.
  7. Flight Instructor – Also known as a CFI, or certified flight instructor. This type of pilot career allows you to teach aspiring pilots, new pilots, and veteran pilots. CFIs can teach at flight schools, operate as private instructors, teach at aviation colleges, teach at airlines, and much more.
  8. Medical and Air Ambulance Pilot – Also known as EMR pilots, these types of pilots fly for various medical situations. They fly for extreme emergency situations, life flight, organ deliveries, non-emergency patient transport, etc.
  9. Government Service Pilot – Government pilot careers allow a pilot to fly for the many different agencies for the federal government. Some examples of agencies that hire pilots include: FAA, DEA, FBI, Homeland Security, Border Patrol, National Guard, Coast Guard, Transport, and more.
  10. Law Enforcement Pilot – Just about every arm of law enforcement employs pilots to fly helicopters, airplanes, and jets. Local, state, and federal pilot careers are available to those who qualify and can pass the rigorous background screening processes.
  11. Military Pilot – We already know what military pilots have to do as part of their job description, but keep in mind that not all military pilots are directly commissioned for combat. Military pilots get to fly the latest state-of-the-art aircraft and get paid to train. They accumulate flight hours towards their civilian-rated pilot licenses. They also get paid while on active duty upon completion of their advanced pilot training.
  12. Fire Fighting Pilot – Pilots can get paid to fly aircraft to put out fires. This type of pilot career is very dangerous. Work is sporadic, and it takes extremely knowledgeable and experienced pilots to get the job done as safely as possible. Some people work as fire fighting pilots while having another pilot job. This could be working as a CFI, private charter, or commercial pilot.
  13. Agricultural Pilot – Also known as an AG Pilot or crop duster, these pilots get paid to fly and release chemicals over farmland. These types of pilots are sometimes hired by local governments to assist with spraying chemicals for pest and weed control.
  14. Banner Towing Pilot – This type of pilot career can best be defined as “low and slow.” This means you will be flying low to the ground and at slow speeds while towing advertisement banners.
  15. Media and Patrol Pilot – This type of pilot usually flies around reporting on traffic, police pursuits, aerial surveillance, news media, etc.
  16. Air Tour Pilot – This type of pilot career basically takes people on flights to tour different tourist sites. See attractions, natural wonders, and other popular destinations from the sky!
  17. Airshow Stunt Pilot – Definitely one of the riskier pilot careers. This type of pilot performs aerial acrobatics for large crowds at events and venues. They perform in competitions, and sometimes this classification of pilot also competes in aerial races.
  18. Contract Pilot – You can start your own pilot business and work freelance on a per contract basis. This means you will have to go out and find opportunities to bid on. Businesses, corporations, and governments all have a need for private contract pilots.
  19. Test Pilot – That’s right, you can be a “crash test dummy” of the skies – without the crashing. This type of pilot career covers a lot of different sectors. You could be testing aircraft for aircraft manufacturers, private businesses, the military, federal government, and other aviation related businesses that may need test pilots.
  20. Astronauts and Space Pilot – With recent aviation and aerospace technological breakthroughs, there is a growing need for space-trained pilots. In the next several years, qualified pilots will take commercialized commuter flights into outer space. They will have civilian and non-civilian passengers on board.
  21. Drone Pilot – A drone pilot is the newest type of pilot career on the horizon. It’s anyone’s guess how this field will expand. Currently, unmanned aircraft is on the rise with regard to pay as new uses In this field increase. With everything from real estate (bird’s-eye views of properties) to law enforcement (searching for lost people in dangerous terrain) to tourism (looking inside an active volcano), the sky’s the limit.

Which pilot careers grabbed your attention?

After reviewing a few of the many types of pilot careers listed here, have any of them caught your eye? Once you decide on which type of pilot career path you would like to follow, you’ll need training. Next steps: find out which type of pilot license or pilot certificate you need for your chosen pilot career. Perhaps you are already interested in working for a particular airline, especially considering the benefits of seniority. Once you choose your career path, complete your training and pursue your dream job!

About Our Flight School

Epic Flight Academy is an FAA-certified flight school based at the Jack Bolt Municipal Airport in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. We have multiple locations. We have trained thousands of pilots from 110+ countries since 1999. Our international flight school boasts a 99% hiring rate for our graduates. We own a fleet of 30+ new Cessna state-of-the-art pilot training aircraft and employ 100+ certified flight instructors. Our stellar safety record and new fleet are just a few reasons why Epic is one of the top international pilot training schools worldwide. Learn to fly with us!

Join the Forum Discussion on Pilot Careers Below!

Tony Perna Author Image

About the Author

Tony Perna

Tony Perna is an expert in the aviation industry with a long history of achievements around the globe. He became both an FAA-certified commercial pilot and FAA-certified aviation maintenance technician early in his career. Tony holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Maintenance Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (1973) and a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Science & Aviation Safety, also from ERAU (2003).

He has worked in aviation his entire life holding the following positions:

  • Cessna Aircraft Company 1974-1979:
    • Field Service Manager, European Marketing Center, Brussels
    • Cessna Flight Crew Instructor (Former Cessna Training Academy)
    • Supervisor of Cessna Technical Training (Former Cessna Training Academy)
    • Manager Africa and Middle East Aircraft Sales and Support: Single/Multi-Engine aircraft and Citation Business Jet Sales and Support
  • Sr. VP Marketing Cessna Distributor, Central Africa, 1979-1986
  • CEO Cessna Aircraft Co. International Dist. Propeller and Citation, Caribbean Region, 1986-2000
  • Advisor and Ground School Instructor, Epic Flight Academy, 2000-2011
  • Logistics Manager, R2, North Star Aviation, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2011-2014
  • Epic Flight Academy Advisory Board, 2014-Present
Epic Chat Close

Loading...

Close